Improvement in automatic railroad-signals



2 Sheets--Sheet 1 s.vv NUMMER. Automatic Railroad-Signals.

No.l54,273.

Patented Au N. :QL

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Automatic Railroad-Signals. 10.154,273.4 l Patented Aug'.18,1`874.

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ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFrOE SOLOMON NUNAMAKER, OFININEVEH, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN AUTOMATIC RAILROAD-SIGNALS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 154,273, dated August18, 1874; application iiled March 28, 1874.

Tov all whom it may conce-rn:

Be it known that I, SOLOMON NUNAMAKER, of Nineveh, in the county ofWestmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and valuableImprovement in Railroad- Signals; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the constructionand operation of the same,

reference being had to the annexed drawingsmaking a part ofthisspecification, and to the letters and figures of reference markedthereon. l

Figure l of the drawing is a representation of a side view of myrailroad-signal. Fig. 2 is a detail view of the same, and Fig. 3 is aplan view. Fig. 4 is a side view.

This invention has relation to railroad-signals which are locatedsuitable distances apart, and so constructed that they will be actuatedby'an angular offset placed on the locomotive or on the tender, wherebyeach train will signal a considerable distance ahead and in rear, andthus, by notifying a-pproach- .ing trains, prevent collisions; and the`novelty consists in the construction and arrangement of the parts, ashereinafter more fully set forth. A

In the annexed drawings, A represents a line of railroad, and B Bdesignate posts, which may be located at any suitable distance apartalong this line. D D are vertical rods, which have signals d secured totheir upper ends. The lower ends of these rods are suitably supportedupon extensions of the crossties, and the upper ends of these rods passtween the signal-posts I shall employ supportin g-posts C, which aresteadied by guides and allowed to oscillate. Each one of these posts hasrigid arms c secured to it, through which the Wires E' freely pass andare thus sustained. The wires E will contract and expand considerably,and to compensate for this change in their length the spring-arms S areemployed, which will give and take up slack. The slides d', with theirweights and chains, will allow the rods D to give and keep the wiresunderproper tension. The lower ends of' the posts or rods D have pinionspurwheels f keyed on them, which engage with horizontal rack bars h,arranged at right angles to the rails A. Thesev rack-bars h play inguides g, and are inclosed in boxes or housings E, and thus protectedfrom snow, ice, &c. Those ends F of the rackbars h Which are next therails A are turned up vertically, so that they will be struckv by anangular offset, P, on the passing train. The odset P, which is shownsecured to a truck, N, presents two angular or wedging portions and anintermediate portion, which latter is parallel to the side of the truck.The rack-bars hare so adjusted that when one of them is pressed outwardor from the rails the other will be moved inward or toward the rails.vWhen a train passes one of the signal-stations the offset P on suchtrain will strike the rack-bar and move the signals so as to indicatedanger, and on leaving a section between two signals they will beadjusted so as to indicate safety in such section. The method ofsignalizing at night is by parabolic reflectors L, which will have theirfront ends covered with glass to protect their polished surfaces'fromthe weather. These reflectors are secured to the upper ends of thesignal-rods D, and so adjusted that when they are presented toward anapproaching train they will reflect the light thrown upon them from thehead-light of the locomotive.

The connected signal-rods D D, applied in slotted guides a, incombination with the sliding boxes d', chains w, and weights w',substantially as described. p

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my namein the presence

